I was checking out the parts list and came across a couple of issues you should know about.

1) Apparently, the Dremel 395 has been retired and is mostly unavailable. TylerTool.com does not have any and it’s not listed as an available product on the Dremel.com site. It looks like the Dremel 300-N/25 is a replacement and TylerTool.com has them for $55.20.

2) The supplier website for the Wiring Harness is listed as xfans.com, but should be xsfans.com.

Right, I just noticed that after I posted… It wouldn’t be totally unworkable, just keep in mind that different materials will require different feed (ie, how fast the gantry moves) & spindle (ie, how fast the tool spins) speeds. So by having only one available speed, you limit your range of materials.

I’ve also wondered whether a flex-shaft tool like this might be an even better option.

The disadvantage of larger/more powerful routers is in their weight(the dremel 395 is only 18oz). I could see a lot of problems resulting from adding a much heavier tool (even small routers run around 6+lbs.) to the Z-cart.

We considered this type of tool early on, but decided the dremel 395 would be simpler and cheaper.

We may now be able to spec some cheaper steppers and/or driver, which would allow more $ to be spent on the tool.

Yes, Schweppes, you are right. There are lots of good options for better tools, however one of the pitfalls that we tried really hard to avoid in this design was over-engineering everything. Just about every ‘improvement’ I can imagine brings with it more expense and more complexity. Don’t get me wrong, I would love it if this thing could handle aluminum (though we don’t know for sure yet that it can’t :). I am going to try that flex-shaft grinder next week and we’ll see if the results are good.